Recently, I started reading Francis Chan’s Forgotten God and completing the bible study workbook. I thought I bought the dvd videos to go along with it, but turns out I really just bought Francis Chan reading his book aloud for me on cd. I do know how to read and should have read the case that I purchased! Oh well.

Galatians 5:16-26 is a passage that I have read many times on my Christian journey, but I love it that something new jumped out at me while reading yesterday. Paul is describing the always present internal battle of living by the Spirit vs the sin nature (or the flesh as it is in Greek). There is always a struggle as to whom is going to win, sometimes we follow the Spirit and let Him lead us and other times we follow our flesh and do what we want, but it isn’t really what we want to do, because we really want to do what the Spirit wants us to do…yeah, that was my paraphrase. Then Paul lists a bunch of examples of the sinful nature, of which, I am guilty of a few. Next comes the fruit of the Spirit. Now, here in verse 25 is what jumped out at me.

“Since we live by the Spirit, let us keep in step with the Spirit.” Galatians 5:25

Sweet Aimee just turned one year old on February 17th. She started cruising around the coffee table around 9 months and has slowly been working the muscles in her legs to hold her wobbly body. Right before her birthday she started taking a few steps, but she didn’t really like it very much. What she did love was to hold a hand and have someone walk with her. When she went off on her own, she ended up on the floor.

Another image that comes to my mind is from back in the college days. Krystal Jones and I had a couple semesters where we had all of the same classes. While this wasn’t the best for my GPA, we had a LOT of fun! Many a day we had to walk (semi) long distances to get to class. I remember dreading those days when the frigid winter air would blow right through my coat (maybe I wasn’t wearing one?) and chill me down to the bone. We would walk to class together, heads down in a kind of huddle all the while making weird “It is so freezing cold outside” noises. While keeping in step with each other, we could face the daunting wind. Funny how it wasn’t those winter days that made us skip class; it was the gorgeous spring days that always led us astray.

It was during those college years that Rich Mullins died in his Jeep accident. I love his song Step by Step and would often have that song in my head on my way to class (way back when college students walked to class without an i pod). …and I will seek you in the morning, and I will learn to walk in your ways, and step by step you lead me…and I will follow you all of my days.

My desire is to walk in step with the Spirit. I don’t want to let go and try to go on my own. I know I will end up on the floor.

This is Aimee walking in step with me! I get to see this cute little face everywhere I go. Mulling these thoughts over in my mind makes me want to be more patient when my kids are pulling me in different directions. Well, as you know, one of the fruit of the spirit is patience.